Upgrades that met/exceeded your expectations and those that felt short


What upgrades have you performed that actually met or exceeded your expectations vs. those that didn't?  

In order of perceived improvement:

1)  Pre-amp:  Move from Freya + to Bryston BP26.   This was the biggest change in sound quality that I have experienced to date.  The Freya + is an incredible value for the money and anyone looking for a preamp under $1K I would recommend the Schiit  Freya + in a heart beat.  That said, replacing the Freya with the Bryston was a game changer.  That's not a knock against the Freya as there should be a game changing improvement for the price difference but this is the point of the post.  This upgrade delivered and was thrilled with the improvement for the money spent.   The level of increased detail and musicality was night and day.  So much more information coming through I was simply amazed. 

2) DAC:  Move from a Node 2i to Audio Mirror Tubadour III.   I started my journey with a Node 2i as my streamer and DAC.  I decided to upgrade the DAC portion and bought the AM.  Wow.  A huge difference in sound quality.  The music seemed to slow down.  There was more time and space between the notes.  For a little over $1,000 this was an incredible improvement to the listening experience.  

3) Amplifiers:  Move from Schiit Vidar Monoblocks to Bryston 7b3 Monoblocks.  I bought the Vidars new and the Bryston's used but the price difference was still over $5k.  A big investment but a worthwhile improvement in sound quality.  I struggle with #2 vs. #3 as the sound difference going to the DAC was very upfront.  The amp difference was substantial but took a little more listening to really appreciate.  It was more nuanced than the DAC change but the amount of changes made for something bigger and expansive as a whole.  The music was enjoyable with the Vidars but everything was more transparent and tighter with the Bryston's.  The more I listen the more difference I hear.   Things really popped wide open when I added the Bryston Preamp to the Bryston Amps.  Previously I was using the Freya + with the Bryston's and it sounded good but this is a whole new game now.   I think it's simply better synergy.  The Freya has a high output impedance in balanced mode vs. the Bryston amp's extremely low input impedance of 7.5K ohms.  Lesson learned: Pay attention to component synergy.   

4) Speakers:  Vandersteen 2ci Signature II's to Magnepan 1.7's.  I rank this third on the list simply because both sound great.  It's really a matter of taste.  The Vandersteen's clearly win in the low end but the Magnepan's are impossible to beat IMO in the clarity of the highs.  I still own both and have gone back and forth several times but have stuck with the Maggie's just due to the vocal reproduction and the clarity (I listen to 80% Jazz)   

5) Digital:  Moving from Bluetooth connection between my w-ifi and the Node to a hardline LAN connection directly to the router.  This is a distant fourth behind the top three but still felt there was a decent improvement in quality.  Things just seemed a little sharper (in a good way) and was getting more information (note decay).  

Upgrades that didn't meet expectations:  

1) Streamer:  Upgraded Node 2i to Lumin U1 Mini.  After I added the Audio Mirror DAC and heard a game changing improvement I hoped I hear an equal improvement going to a dedicated streamer.  I am happy and don't regret the purchase but I didn't realize the same improvement from other upgrades.  The improvement  was very subtle to my ears.   

Upgrades TBD:

1) Cables:  I upgraded my cables from stock power cables and XLR's to Silnote cables for both.  I did the upgrade while still running the Schiit Freya + and Vidars and didn't here a whole lot of difference.  Either I didn't make a big enough upgrade to be audible or my system at the time was revealing enough.  Now that I've gone up the food chain on amps/preamp I intend to do some testing to compare the stock cables with the aftermarket upgrades to see if it made since tos spend the money.  
mvrooman1526
Happy to say its been several years now since anything has not exceeded expectations, and usually by quite a lot. Tekton Moabs are probably #1, but not by much, the Herron VTPH2A is amazing, and, well just look at my system. Hard to think of anything that hasn't been at least as good as expected.
When I bought my KLH Nine full-range electrostats in 1992 I put my Quad 57's aside (in use since 1981). Superior bass and dynamic range, given enough amp power! 
Tarun, who has the British Audiophile YT channel says that unless one is going to spend considerably more on an upgrade, it likely won't improve things. I think he said 2x to 3x at least when starting with lower end gear -- e.g.don't go from a $400 speaker to a $600, go up to $800 or more. I wonder that was roughly what you did, OP?
Exceeded: Switching, years ago, from a conrad-johnson MF-2300 amplifier to a Bryston B14-SST. Wow! Everything was better: dynamics, clarity, bass, smoothness, imaging.

Exceeded: Adding a Torus RM-20 power unit to feed my power amp. Despite my skepticism, I hear clearer imaging on good recordings and less hardness on poor recordings.

Underperformed: I tried some $2200 interconnects in place of my $100 pair of Mogami/Neutrik interconnects. The fancy ones were noticeably colored in the treble, really funny sounding. I was very happy to send them back.
Exceeded: Upgraded my interconnect cables from Blue Jeans/Canare to Teo Audio GC's. Immediately superior clarity and dynamics.

Exceeded: Replaced my Klipsch RB-61 II with Martin Logan Spires. Admittedly, that is a *big* step up.  
Exceeded expectations:
Replaced Brick Wall with Core Power Equi=Core 1800. Revealed new life and clarity to music.

Added High Fidelity MC-0.5 power modules. 2 on amp line, one on digital line. A long break-in, now experiencing a true black background, music has a sense of smoothness and realism.

Added High Fidelity CT-2 S/PDIF coax cable. Amazing improvement over all other digital cables I've tried. Music just flows, no more thinking of music as digital.


Exceeded: Wrapping PTFE tape around the glass part of fuses. Try it.

Exceeded: Replacing the bearing in my 401 with an SPH grease bearing. Made the original sound broken.

Underperformed: fancy interconnects. Duller than the cheap OFC Belkins I use.
Exceeded: Herbie’s Tenderfoot footers under my integrated. Noticeably cleaner sound.
Exceeded: Nobsounds springs under turntable. Must be heavy. Best $35 ever. Adds speed, structure and dimensionality to the music. See my thread on the subject.

Underperformed: graphite mat. Deadening. 
Exceeded: My first purpose built audio room. Worth every penny.
Exceeded: Ortofon A90
Underperformed: Thiel CS4,                                                               
Exceeded: Switching from a Node2 DAC to Mytek Manhattan II DAC. Shockingly big difference in all aspects but then again price is ~10x. 
Exceeded: Switching from stock power chords to Silnote Poseidon GL Reference Power Cables throughout my system. These are relatively cheap power chord upgrades as I wasn’t convinced PCs would make a discernible difference but man was I wrong. 
Exceeded: Switching from Node2 streamer to dedicated network card in Mytek Manhattan. Not nearly as big of a difference as the DAC upgrade but clearly not just 1s and 0s either. 
Exceeded, replacing a Bryston BDA-1 with a Audio Mirror Tubadour III DAC. The Bryston served me well for ~8 years however the Tubadour provides what I was looking for, tube magic with resolution.


Exceeded: PSVANE Acme 805 and 300b tubes, NOS 6SN7 and 6SL7 tubes to replace OE tubes on Line Magnetic LM805ia. Night and day difference. Do it before any other upgrades. _____________
Exceeded: DIY rca interconnect project using Duelund 16ga non-shielded wire. These blow away my Cardas Golden Reference cables. Best part, Duelund project $70. ____________
Exceeded: Generic Cat5e to Supra Cat8 with Etherregen. Almost no noise and black background. Better bass response, wider and taller soundstage, improved depth and image coherence.
Not worth it: Lower than “Carbon” line in Audioquest cables. Start from “Coffee” and work your way up from there.
In my experience it takes about 12-15 discrete systems to get the read of a product's global performance. Even then, it is possible with any given combo of gear to have an outlier result, either positive or negative. 

I am able to, on a regular basis, take a product that presents as worse in one system, and by changing the system around it, make it outperform the competing product that was purportedly superior, even without changing speakers. That is why it takes so many systems to gain insight as to the limits of performance. That does not assure it will always perform in line with expectation, but it does move it closer to that point. 

As an example of how fiendishly difficult it is to peg a product's performance, just this past week I made a rig with a DAC that after many systems I would rate as third in terms of performance. Yet, with a particular combination of gear and with new speakers, it yielded a result that superseded any previous iteration of system with it - or the other DACs that were considered superior! The experience is subjectively above that of other DACs in combination with many speakers. I have found that often the speakers dictate the performance of many components, and when you change speakers, the putative ranking of the components can flip. Scary stuff for anyone who wants to know with absolute assurance the quality of a component! 

Will that DAC continue to hold on to that position of prominence with these speakers? Will putting in the #1 and #2 DACs from previous experiences settle this DAC back at #3 again? I don't know; I will have to build another several systems with the other DACs to know. Finding a perceived absolute ranking is far messier than I want it to be. It would be much easier to build one or two rigs and call the shots, but the more systems that are built, the more difficult it is, even as the performance rises dramatically. 

That does not mean there is no potential to rank components. 

When you put in a new product and have not done many iterations (No judgment of the community on that comment), you have a very limited knowledge of the capacity of that product to perform. I say this only to educate as to how difficult it is to gain an absolute grip on performance of a product, and why there can be such divergent opinions on any given product - not to emphasize personal preferences.  

So, is that DAC really better than the others? It depends. And, all these recommendations here also depend on the system. I would hope, then, that this might ameliorate some of the debates that occur when individuals arrive at very different conclusions in regard to a product.  

It's just not as simple as people wish/think.   :) 


Awesome thread OP and thanks for sharing your experience with the freya +.

hilde made an excellent point and one I agree with.  Anything thats going to be an upgrade costs 2-3 times more.  I’ve made many sideways moves unfortunately.

Exceeded: GIK room treatments, upgraded power cords


Exceeded: Denon DL103R MC to Hana EL MC
Exceeded: ARC SP8 Mk2 to SP11 Mk2
Exceeded: Hafler DH220(pair) to ARC VS110
Exceeded: Monster Interconnect 2 and Powerline2 to Marrow MA4 interconnects and SP4 speaker cables respectively

Did not exceed:
Node2i internal DA to external Jolida Glass FX DAC - Note: Didn't make anything worse, just didn't improve things all that much.

Good thread!
If you like the Magnepan 1.7s, maybe you should try the Magnepan 20.1s or 20.7s (with a sub of course and a powerful amp). Instead of just exceeding your expectations, they just might exceed your wildest dreams.
For me replacing my Node 2i streamer with Sonore Optical Rendu in my main system was an eye opener. I was skeptical about the impact on sound quality (0's are 0's and 1's are 1's, right?), but I was really surprised at how much it lowered the noise floor. Also made me a believer in equipment that generally reduces noise floor.

Disappointment: Upgrading from Parasound A23 to A21 (both were sold many years ago). The difference, in my system at least, was marginal.
Miller Carbon "Happy to say its been several years now since anything has not exceeded expectations, and usually by quite a lot. Tekton Moabs are probably #1.."

With all the equipment you have and have gone through, it blows my mind that your Moabs impress you that much.  They have got to be one of the greatest bargains out there.  I dropped $15K for my Magnapan MG 20.7.  I love them.  But when I read that Millercarbon rates his Moabs for 5K+ that high, it makes me want to AB my speakers with them.   
Exceeded:
-Room Treatments
-Configuration changes to stereo position in room
-Speaker upgrade to Tannoy FSMs

Failed:
- My hearing
Exceeded; 
     Freya to Allnic L- 3000- different universe
     Adding English Electric 8Switch
     Denafrips Terminator DAC then Terminator Plus DAC
     Adding the Denafrips Iris DDC between Innous Statement and             Terminator Plus
     Clocking Iris with clock out from Terminator Plus
     SOtM dCBL-Cat7 ethernet cables
and last but not least
     Network Acoustics ENO Ethernet Filter Ag
3 meter Madrigal HPC XLR, to just tangibly replace 1.5 meter Transparent Ultra Music Link from ML390S preamp to PassLabs X350.5. 
Never did I recall such an unexpected change of the positive kind. At all! 

It made me wonder, still does, if that Transparent cable was a kind of unintended inductive mismatch of sorts?!? 
The improvement turned out almost, what one might call, 'radical'. 
M. 🇿🇦 
Upgraded SMc DNA-1 amplifier to G20 Ultra+. The last upgrade in 2014 was a strong improvement. The G20 Ultra upgrade delivered an amplifier that way exceeded my expectations. My Double Impact speakers are doing a happy dance!
Did the Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum upgrade, from a 1 to effectively a 3.  A whole new amp.  More depth and detail. And the phono-stage upgrade was particularly worth it.  I've taken my phono preamp offline.
My recently-acquired SP-6B is wonderful.  It replaced a Lux CL-32 that was long in service--40+ years.

As usual, Audio Research stuff is wonderful on Maggies.

Looking for a xover (EC-3) and big Audio Research amp (old one that is all tube, not a hybrid) as well.

Cheers,

Richard
Great thread!

My system these days is strictly desktop audio w/headphones: in fact, 2 systems side-by-side on desktop (main system is headhones + amp/monitors/sub; secondary system is headphones only).

Exceeded:
1 - replacing a series of powered monitors w/a Wyred4Sound ST-500 class D amp + passive ATC SCM12 Pro monitors (wow! sound became huge & better in every way)
2 - replacing a series of delta-sigma DACs with 1 multibit (side system) and 1 NOS DAC (main system). Sound is better in nearly every way--less digital, more musical--finally digital sound worthy of comparison to analog
3 - replacing my 1.5M Billy Jeans coax from SPDIF convertor to DAC w/1.3M Oyaide silver coax. A 10X increase in cost with easily heard & appreciated sonic bump

Failed:
Many things over the years--but I’d rather not dwell on the past
Exceeded- 
Dynavector DV20X2L to AudioTechnica ART9
Pro-ject Tube Box DS to Lehmann Black Cube SEII
NAD C356 to Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II
KEF LS50s to Harbeth C7ES3
Home Depot bulk cable to Kimber 8PR
Kimber PBJ to Nordost Blue Heaven
Yamaha CD 300 to Marantz SA8005
Harbeth C7ES3 to Spendor D7
As others have said...fun thread and hopefully useful for others as they see the paths taken

Exceeded:

Eroica LX to Benz Micro Wood SM
Isoacoustics Delos platform under turntable(due to my own ignorance of the importance of isolation)
Herbies gliders for my subwoofers
B&K Ref5 S2 preamp to Audio Research LS3B
Parasound HCA 2200ii to Audio Research Classic 120 mono blocks
NAD PP2 to Project Tube Box DS 
Groovetracer Reference Subplatter for Rega RP6

Adding a middle section because there are certain improvements that are in line with our expectations

As expected:

Audio Research Classic 120s to Audio Research REF 150
Audio Research LS3B to Audio Research LS26
Audio Research LS26 to Audio Research REF3
Project Tube Box DS to Audio Research PH5
Audio Research PH5 to Audio Research PH7
Audio Research PH7 to Audio Research REF Phono 2
Platinum Audio Quattro to Wilson Audio Sophia

Disappointed:

Groovetracer record weight and counterweight 
Any cable purchase
Synergistic fuses(This was on my initial system so may try again now that I have upgraded all components)
Parasound HCA 2200ii to TWO Parasound HCA 2200ii as monos
Parasound HCA 2200ii to Parasound HCA 3500
Electro Harmonix 6922 to Telefunken 6922 in ARC PH7
Platinum Audio Quattro to Focal 1038Be2